Tuesday, May 29, 2012

WHEN IN CEBU: SPICE FUSION

Spice Fusion-ing like a boss

Before I left for Cebu, I got in touch with the Cebu based food blogger known as the "Babe For Food", to ask for suggestions of places that I should check out when I get to Cebu. She gave me a concise and extremely thorough list, that included some very interesting suggestions. Something that she strongly recommended, was the restaurant "Spice Fusion". I kept it under my radar, because I'm a big fan of South East Asian Fusion, which is something that Spice Fusion boasts. But with the short amount of time I was there, I wasn't certain what places I'd be able to visit.

I was at Cebu for a day, when my mom's good friend asked me where I planned on going. Naturally I said the usual staples, Harbor City, Zubuchon, and Sunburst.

She had just brought us an entire from Farley's Special Lechon (which my mom likes more than Zubuchon), so I was aware that she knew a thing or two about food, So when I asked her for a suggestion, she said very emphatically, "Spice Fusion!".

So two people whose taste I trust when it comes to food gave a resounding recommendation to Spice Fusion, so I knew they must have something good going on. So I left the beach, and decided to take Rina and Baby Rain out on a date to Cebu City, with our first stop.. Spice Fusion!

Though Spice Fusion has a branch at SM City Cebu, I'm glad I went to their Banilad Town Center outlet instead, because based from what I saw from the SM location, it seemed to be a bit more cramped (Though I must admit, I only saw the rear portion). The look and feel of Spice Fusion had a strong influence of the orient, given modern twists and interpretations. My only comment was that the back portion near the bathroom seemed to need a bit of sprucing up. A coat of paint or two wouldn't hurt.

Their menu looks more like a hardbound coffee table book than a selection of the food. With so many dishes to choose from, you end up getting tired from flipping that heavy book (I need to work out more, I know).

THE FOOD

Spice Fusion's free appetizer to kick off your meals are honey roasted peanuts. It was nothing out of this world, or anything you couldn't get from Tobi's, but it was something nice to munch on while waiting for your orders.

We originally didn't plan on ordering Roti with our meal. But at the rate that they were flying out of the kitchen, it became as clear as day that we were obviously missing out on something. I told Rina that I wanted to try the Cheese and Garlic Roti, and she quickly nodded even before I got to the word "Garlic".

A beautiful, steaming hot large piece of Roti was brought to us in a basket, tiny bits of garlic seemingly embedded into the bread. Dig deeper into the roti, and you'll find a layer of cheese baked into it.

It was actually pretty fantastic, especially when dipped into the garlic cream that it came with. After we had finished our meal and Rina swore she was on the brink of exploding, she took a look at the the leftover roti, and knew that when we got back to Manila and she looked back at that very moment, she'd regret not eating it.

I got back from the restroom to find her tearing through the remaining piece. And then in that very moment, I realized I truly had chosen the woman of my dreams.

For our rice, I decided to go with the Beef and Coriander fried rice, which was excellent. First off, I noticed that the type of rice they used is different. I'm not really knowledgeable about those healthier types of grains, but the grains on this one was much shorter than your average cup of rice, and the texter was a bit beadier. It didn't affect the taste though, so it was all good to me.

The medley of the savory bits of beef and the fragrance of coriander fused together to form a delicious rice dish.

MAIN COURSE

Green curry chicken is one of Rina's favorite dishes. To this very day, I never stop teasing her about the time we went to Som's, and after nearly wiping the bowl of green chicken Curry clean, she asked the waitress "Pwede ba dagdagan ng sabaw?" (Could you add more sauce?) because she wanted to eat the sauce alone with the rice. The waitress explained to her that, unlike her coke, the dishes were not "refillable". Once you ate it all, its over. Though I give her a hard time about it, i cant help to admit that once again, it made me love her even more than i already did.

Given that, the choice to try Spice Fusion's Green Chicken Curry was hers. And in all honesty, it was a very good choice. The boneless chicken cutlets swam in a rich bath of creamy curry that had a hint of sweetness to it.Despite the amazing flavor of the rice on its own, Rina found herself drowning it in the curry sauce just like she did at Som's.

I usually make it a rule to stay away from vegetables in a dish, but I had to admit, even the eggplant mixed into the curry sauce was rather tasty.

I did a little research on Spice Fusion, and I came across their "Dong Po" Pork Belly (P368). The dish comes in two components: the first being a basket of freshly baked Chinese sesame buns. With the texture, the best way for me to describe it is, it seemed closer to a fried Mantao.

The main event would of the dish is definitely the pork belly, which was braised in some herbs and a sweet red wine sauce for hours, making it amazingly soft. At first glance it seemed like the meat was drowned in Banana Ketchup, but the aroma let out a different smell all together.

I assumed that you make an open faced sandwich out of the two, so that's what I did. The fat of the pork belly just melted in my mouth, and the meat itself was ridiculously tender. The Red sauce give the meat a sweet flavor that made it a bit similar (although not as sweet) to "Humba".

I quite enjoyed eating it with the bread, while Rina was enjoying the rice a bit too much to make the switch. I told her that the meat and the bread made for a good pair, and she replied by shoveling a spoonful of pork belly and rice down her mouth (Which was fine, because it meant more buns for me.. but then again it meant more rice for her.. hhmm.. wait a sec-).

I really need to give a shout out to the beautiful Babe For Food for her awesome suggestion! This was a great restaurant to visit during my short stay in Cebu. Thank you Babe For Food! The next time I visit Cebu, you have to take us out to some of your other hidden finds!

I get gigl with Baby Rain

You probably won't believe this, but THIS is where I ate at, just an hour or so before my stop at Sunburst for the Chick N' Crackers. And yes, I'm aware that Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins (Don't judge me).

8 comments:

Hey!!! Thanks so much for the shoutout! I'm deeply overjoyed by your satisfaction in this suggestion. And har har at your menu comment. Hahaha. Props to you for the effort of taking photos of all the categories in the menu. Hahaha. I wouldn't have the guts to do that cuz I feel conscious about waiters noticing me. But if it's perfectly fine, why not.

Again, so glad you like this place. I love the roti, too. Even the plain one is good. And next time, you should try their whole fried fish! One of their specialties. But actually, whatever you order here is really delightful. I can never tire of their dishes. They also have this veg dish that's like utan bisaya and sauteed with bagoong. Soooo good. :D

It would be my honor and pleasure to take you and your family out next time you're back!

I ate there last week. We had that Singaporean noodles (i forgot the name) for dinner, and i shouted WOW at the restaurant because it was so spicy i never expected it. i know it was spicy but didn't expect that it was that spicy.